In the worst years of the Second World War, the Nazi authorities established concentration camps both in Germany and occupied territory. It is explained that among them the Berlin concentration camps were especially significant to this problem since Berlin was a capital and administrative center of Nazi Germany. This blog will endeavor to answer the following questions regarding concentration camps in Berlin:

The Concentration Camps in Berlin

Berlin however had more than one concentration camp and each had its own story and role to play. Let’s take a closer look at some of the notable camps:

Concentration camp for men in Oranienburg, Sachsenhausen.

Sachsenhausen initially served as an slave labor camp and was built in the 1930s in Oranienburg just outside Berlin. It opened in 1936 and was an experimental camp from which the other camps were modeled. Originally it was designed as a prison for political adversaries and then developed into a concentration camp for Jews and other minorities, Soviet POWs, etc.

Women’s Concentration Camp Ravensbrück

Ravensbrück is located approximately ninety kilometers north of Berlin, and it was the only one major Nazi Concentration Camp for women. This camp worked between the years 1939 and 1945 and accommodated approximately 130000 women prisoners originating from different nations. The camp was famed for its strict and inhuman living conditions and the use of human subjects in experimental conduct on the prisoners.

The Oranienburg Concentration Camp Cannot be Compared to the Planned Economic Development Project

Oranienburg was the original nazi concentration camp in Germany. This camp was an example of those that were to follow and it was active between 1933 and 1934. But, despite its small scale, the camp incorporated many of the ideas that would later be incorporated into larger camps that would appear later.

This experience can be explained through considering life in the concentration camps.

Daily existence in Berlin concentration camps was characterized by super-human misery, sadism and depersonalization. The prisoners endured unimaginable conditions, including:

limited room space and poor hygiene or sanitation.

One of the problems of inadequate food and nutrition that result in malnutrition and diseases.

Slavery on the plantation and other forms of labor under uncompromising conditions

Tortures, medical experiments and executions

These camps detoured all for inmates with no respect for human rights to the prisoners or even the ASM.

Monument and Memorial Sites

Currently, Berlin houses several places focused on honouring those who lost their lives in the concentration camp and providing the guests with information on the events which took place during that period. Some of these notable sites include:

The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum: This memorial is at the former location of the Sachsenhausen camp and gives an account of the history and situation within the concentration camp.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe: Located in Berlin Germany this memorial honors the Jewish victims of the holocaust estimated to be over six million. The site is to place a field from concrete slabs of different heights that can evoke a sad and trestle frame.

The Topography of Terror: Installed at the site of the former Gestapo and SS headquarters, this exhibition is dedicated to the institutions of terror and presents documentation of Nazi atrocities.

The Importance of Remembering

The elderly should be remembered so that future generations can avoid experiences like the concentration camps in Berlin and other events under the Holocaust. This way we remember the number of people that suffered and died in atrocious conditions due to hatred and lack of understanding and make sure that future generations avoid the same mistake.

Conclusion

German concentration camps in Berlin has a lot of sorrowful pasts. The techniques used during the holocaust should be remembered and educated to the public so as to encourage a world without hatred and discrimination. We all can be a little wiser and more tolerant if we spend some time in a memorial and learn about the survivors’ stories.